GATE:Thus The ARVN Fought Once More
by Striped Tiger
Summary: The modern day Republic of Vietnam is thriving. The Vietnam War ended more than half a century ago in an armistice allowing the people of South Vietnam to enjoy the peace despite shaky relations with their Northern neighbors. It wasn't until Portals with Foreign foes invade the Imperial City of Huế leading to a deadly skirmish and thrusting the ARVN into the fight once more...
1. Chapter 1- A Gate Appears

**GATE:Thus The ARVN Fought Once More**

 **Huế City, Federal Republic of Vietnam**

"Damn, what did I miss?" Sergeant(Trung Sĩ) Đào Chí Vịnh had just arrived in the Vietnamese ancient capital of Huế City for the rest of the Hue Festival but due to his work in the Army he was a little late and missed most of the main events. The Festival consisted of a variety of traditional events such as dance performances, firework displays, concerts and so on.

Vịnh has always enjoyed these kind of Festivals because he loved culture and tradition but it also gave him a reason to get off work every year and not have to deal with anything stupid. He went down to a nearby concert along with some food and found a seat up on a nearby park. The concert was not far from the Citadel Walls which guarded the enclosure of the Imperial City itself.

As the concert neared the end, Vịnh was left disappointed by the fact that he got here too late and just wandered down the street towards many of the street attractions around him. As he tried to enjoy the small street performances, Vịnh could hear police radio chatter from a Police Officer nearby and sirens in the background. Further down the street he could see Police guiding large amounts of people into the Citadel to evacuate the street. Vịnh was confused as to what the Police was trying to do until he could hear a volley of gunfire all at once followed by screaming from civilians running in different directions. He also noticed flying creatures throughout the sky that he had never seen before picking up people with their claws.

Vịnh made his way down the street towards the Citadel until he was stopped by an Officer who was armed with a 1911 pistol. "Stop! It's too dangerous here!"

Vịnh noticed a strangely dressed man riding on a horse coming around the corner of a building holding what he assumed was a rifle, aiming for the Officer. The Horseman shot the Officer in the arm prompting him to drop his pistol as he rode past them both. Vịnh took this opportunity to pick up the pistol and waited for the Horseman to turn around and charge him before putting a '.45' in his chest which knocked him off his horse. Vịnh approached the Horseman and put two more rounds in his chest before he turned his attention towards the Officer.

"Are you alright?!" Vịnh asked the wounded Officer as he helped him up, putting an arm over his shoulder and started walking towards the bridge leading to the Citadel.

"You know… how to use that?" the Officer has lost a lot of blood making it harder for him to breathe and speak.

"Don't speak, I'm going to get you some help and figure out what the hell is going on…" He said to the fatally wounded Officer whilst carrying him down the street in one arm and pistol in the other. They both arrived at the Citadel walls just in time before this mysterious force caught up to them and it looked like they hadn't even reached the walls yet but they will soon. Unfortunately for both of these men, the first main gate they went to was closed off before they arrived. Before they could check the rest of gates, the Officer stood on his own two feet without Vịnh supporting him on his side and spoke again. "Wait, the gates… they probably closed them all... after the civilians were evacuated."

"There must be another way in..." Vịnh said

"There is but…" The Officer stopped his sentence and looked down past the ramparts and into the moat.

"But what?"

"We have to swim if we are to make it inside… through the sluice gates."

Vịnh held a worried look on his face but knew that they had to act if they were to have a chance at surviving. "Are you able to swim with that wound?"

"I can swim…that round in my shoulder is going to hurt a bit but I'll manage with an arm."

 **...**

 **Inside of the Citadel...**

A mass of people camped inside of the Citadel were all terrified. Some had witnessed people around them shot and killed, others taken prisoner and separated from their loved ones. The many Police Officers that are protecting the people inside were all jumpy, twitchy even. They would all be even more frightened when a group of people started screaming all of a sudden. The Officers all rushed over towards the screaming with their sidearms and saw that there was something moving around in the water near the sluice gates.

"Could they have gotten through?!" One Officer yelled out with his sidearm primed and ready just like the rest of the Officers.

Before they did anything rash, both Vịnh and the wounded Officer emerged from the water which prompted the Officers to lower their weapons and give them both a hand. Vịnh was a little shook up and slowly looked over to the wounded Officer after being pulled out from the water. "I thought you said you could swim?!"

The Officer who was laying on his back looked over at Vịnh and spoke one last time before being taken away for medical treatment. "Sorry… I swim better with both arms after all…"

Vịnh shook his head before getting up and began looking around. He saw frightened faces mostly but now was not the time to dwell on it. "Who's in charge here?"

"Second Lieutenant Bình is but who are you?" The confused Officer asked wondering what kind of man would swim his way in through the sluice gates to get into the Citadel.

"Sergeant Vịnh of the 18th Infantry Division, 52nd Regiment, now where can I find him?"

"You can follow me Sergeant." The young Officer offered, leading him to the Lieutenant in charge. Second Lieutenant(Thiếu Úy) Bình looked like any average civilian he would normally see with the exception of his unkempt hair. Like Vịnh, he was a bit on the lean side in terms of body build. He was talking to a few Police Officers about bolstering their defenses until the Army arrived. Vịnh approached him to get more info about the attack. "Sir, what's happening out there?"

Bình turned his attention to Vịnh to respond. "So you're with the Army too?"

"Yes sir, I'm with the 18th Division."

Lieutenant Bình was aware of the 18th Division's antics during the war and their Soldiers, they were undisciplined but motivated Soldiers who were known for their "Cowboy-like" behavior. "You're with the Supermen huh?"

"That's right sir…"

"Well i'm glad to have someone like you around." They both exchanged handshakes as Lieutenant Bình introduced himself to the Army Sergeant.

"Lieutenant Bình, 1st Infantry Division. We're in a tough spot right now, most of the Soldiers in garrison here were on pass for the festival so it will take some time for a our quick reaction force to mobilize and come to us. We have to hold out until then."

"Any idea where these guys came from sir?"

"Yeah come look over there, at the Flag Tower."

Across from the Meridian Gate was an open field of view of the fortified Flag Tower and a large Portal which looked like some kind of gated European stone structure where the Flag tower once stood and now has been reduced to mostly rubble, guarded by hundreds of the Foreign Soldiers that were similar to the one that Vịnh killed earlier.

"From what I can understand the portal we're seeing is a major one, compared to the ones outside of the Citadel which were much smaller and appear in greater numbers but this is the main one we should be worried about…" Bình explained, interested in the Portal's origins.

Vịnh then asked him about methods to closing the portals. "Well is there a way to close them at all?"

"The small surrounding portals that I've seen from here looks like they are disposable one-use type of portals only which means they collapse themselves once there is nothing left to send through."

"And the main one?"

"Well so far the larger one seems to have stayed open this whole time but it doesn't look like there are anymore of these guys coming through it to get here."

Just then, a large explosion could be heard as the pair started hearing a yell from a nearby Police Officer accompanied by the sounds of gunfire all around them. "They're coming in!"

The path to the famous Southern gate, the Meridian Gate, was at risk of being overrun as the Foreign Soldiers charged across open ground to reach the bridges that extended towards them over the moat. The gate itself was barricaded with a wide assortment of valuable furniture found from within the Palace itself but even that won't hold them for long. The small National Police force took to the Palace-like upper levels of the gate and fired upon the advancing Foreign Troops below. They easily cut down the charging men who fell in droves but it wasn't until many of them stopped in the back and began to form up in ranks.

One of the foreign Soldiers, an Officer by the looks of it, behind the ranks were giving them the orders to prep and fire in a foreign tongue. The men below fired at the the Palace which hit many of the Police Officers wounding them and even killing a few. Those who weren't hit were a bit more hesitant to fire back now with so many dead and wounded.

After the first few volleys had been fired, everything seemed to have stopped until the invaders cleared a path for what appeared to be their Commander. He began to address the Meridian Gate defenders in an unheard language but the defenders already knew what he was asking for. He wanted them to surrender. As the foreign Commander rambled on, Vịnh took a quick peek and saw an opportunity, a clear shot. He used the pistol that belonged to the Cop he saved earlier and shot the Commander before his speech had ended.

Vịnh was able to hit him in the chest and knock him over which prompted the foreign Soldiers to form up in ranks again and continued to fire back leaving the fate of their Commander unknown. Before long, the Soldiers opened their ranks once more to allow their Cavalrymen to charge at the Meridian Gate defenders as they fired upon them.

It wasn't until the the sounds of jet engines followed by choppers were heard which confused many of the foreign invaders. One chopper, a Huey flew over towards them with it's side exposed to the foreigners. The door gunner with the latest mounted M60E6 and proceeded to unload on them a barrage of hard-hitting 762x51 rounds. The invaders were torn to pieces, their morale dropped and they began to vacate their positions but they soon realized that their only pathway out was cut off by Armored V-100 Commando Cars which were accompanied by scores of Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division as they encircled them.

"Drop your weapons, put them down!" The ARVN troops shouted aiming their M4 Carbine copies at the foreign troops who surrendered without any resistance. Few were able to escape through the other side of the Portal in time before being captured. Those who did put up any sort of fight were either killed or maimed by the ARVN Soldiers who discovered terrible atrocities all over the place, little by little and with each discovery only angering them much more than the last as they cleared every street, house, and building around in which the foreign invaders used to hide.

When the fighting was over, many went missing and many more were killed in what would be known as the ' _Huế Incident'_. All of the small portals around the city collapsed leaving only the larger Flag Tower Portal standing as well as the tattered flag of the Republic of Vietnam.


	2. Chapter 2- Incursion

**GATE:Thus The ARVN Fought Once More**

 **...**

" _\- The recent and uncalled arrival of these foreign invaders in the city of Hue has left people confused and shocked all around the world as-"_

" _\- I say we go on the other side of that gate and kill everything that moves! No mercy! Those bastards deserve to die for what they did to us. They-"_

" _\- number of civilian casualties are believed to have peaked into the hundreds by the end of the week with more and more bodies being uncovered every passing da-_

" _\- nearby residents are not only angry but fear that the Republic of Vietnam is on the verge of another great war that-"_

" _\- lived here for many years, I lived through both Tet and Easter Offensives from the North and it pains me to see us as victims that suffer the most time and time agai-"_

" _\- a sharp increase in military budget and recruitment has prompted the government to shut down mandatory conscription throughout the country for the first time since 1969-"_

" _\- number of military personnel has exceeded one million across the armed forces-"_

" _\- at first I did not care much for the Army because I was told to either be drafted or go to jail but now with the attack and the things I saw in the city, I want to do everything I can to help figh-"_

…

 **Officer Sang's House**

Senior Sergeant (Trung sĩ nhất) Vịnh spent his last day in-country at a friend's house. The house belonged to the same National Police Officer that he saved and had became good friends with this year. Officer Sang and Vịnh sat outside on the porch of his home at a small coffee table and conversed for a bit.

"So today is your last day in country huh?" Sang asked as he sat down in his seat with coffee in both hands and handed one to Vịnh. His wound had mostly healed up since the incident so there was nothing for him to worry about when moving around.

"Yeah, we'll be leaving here pretty early tomorrow and take the fight to whoever these guys are on the other side." Vịnh said while leaning back in his seat taking a sip from his coffee.

"So why are they making you go if you aren't with the 1st Infantry guys?"

"Well it's a joint operation since I'm from the 18th and I was there during the massacre, it gave us a chance to commit our own men to join in."

But, what about you? Just you I mean."

"Oh well the military of course wants me there since i'm a hero and all with sufficient training and whatever excuse they come up with to get me to go…"

"Well… who are we even fighting anyways?"

Vịnh took another sip of his coffee then leaned forward in his chair and began to explain, "Well that general we captured told us that we're fighting some kind of Imperial Empire on the other side. The Saderan Imperial Dominion or something and they got muskets."

"So it is a blown out war then…"

"Well we don't know that for sure, not unless we figure out what's on the other side first." Vịnh got up out of his seat to stretch and decided it was about time to go.

"Oh yeah here… it's that M1911 I picked up from you and where did you get that old thing anyways?" Sang took the pistol from Vịnh which was placed in a small bag.

"Oh thanks, well it's a hand me down from my grandfather and it saved his life many time back then.

"During the war?" Sang nodded in response before placing the pistol on the coffee table

"Well you take care of it... it's a good sidearm."

"I will and I'll see you when you get back."

"I'll see you later then."

 **...**

 **The Gate**

The Gate stood high at the remains of the flag tower as an assembled brigade task force of the 1st and 18th Infantry divisions stood at attention in their 4-pocket Digital Woodland Fatigues (Based off of US4CES Woodland variant), Ballistic vests and slinged M4 Carbines alongside green M1A1 Abrams and armored troop transport lined up in columns.

Behind them were a small contingent American troops who were mostly acting in the rear as a support element for the ARVN and would continue to assist them on the other side. This was an ARVN-led operation so they would be the first to go through the Gate.

Before they marched on, they await the word of their Commander, Brigadier General (chuẩn tướng) Tùng as he walked out in from of the brigade to give his speech. "About a year ago today, this Gate arrived here along with many other portals from another world housing an unknown invasion force. Hundreds of lives were lost that day and many still remain missing, their whereabouts unknown. The times we as Vietnamese have suffered throughout the centuries have passed but we have been threatened once more. Not only are we threatened but so is the rest of the world and what is to say that our allies are next?"

General looked throughout the men who stood before him, all were ready to fight and win. He spoke once more. "Our mission is to stop an incident like this from ever happening again and establish contact on the other side. To bring whoever is responsible to justice and to kill anyone who gets in our way. Each and everyone of you is worth six or more of these bastards and I expect to see results, understood?

His men sounded off with their motto with all of their strength, " _Tổ Quốc, Danh dự, Trách Nhiệm!"_

"Good, now let's take this fight to the enemy!"

 **...**

 **Alnus Hill**

The Legions of the Imperial Saderan Army made up of Soldiers from different Kingdoms within the region were all gathered at the Gate to await any sort of retaliation from the other side. The Army was in high spirits due to their recent victories and successful military campaign. They thought they were invincible with their more recently produced rifles which featured a trapdoor-breech loading style mechanism and stood in large three ranks of a few hundred men each, their Troops in the front rank were on one knee and the two in the back were standing.

On a nearby hill overlooking the Gate were tents that belonged to the Generals of the Legions that were gathered here on this night as they discussed the forces they sent on the other side. "Our skirmishing force should have been back by now…"

"Patience my friend, surely they have dispatched all that threatens them on the other side. It must have taken them some time to establish authority and we should expect a runner at any time now." One General said as he spoke to the other leading commanders in his tent looking at a map with the positions of their Legions, Artillery cannons and Cavalry all marked.

"We will not fail my friends, when have we failed before? We have won every engagement against our enemies in neighboring states and even beaten back every insurrection from the Empire's most brutal savages…"

The Commander in charge was Lord Duran of the state of Elbe, a vassal state under the Empire. He wished to reassure his men that no failure can come to them. "Nothing will crush us, so I ask you all to have faith and trust in the abilities of our Soldiers."

Just then, another Soldier rushes into the tent out of breath. He gave a Salute to the Generals before speaking. "My lord! A messenger has arrived from the other side!"

"Take us to him immediately."

"Yes, right away my Lord!" The Soldier led Lord Duran and his other generals to a Soldier being carried away on a stretcher to a nearby medical tent. Before they carried the Soldier into the tent, Lord Duran approached the bloodied and wounded Soldier.

"What happened to you son?" One General questioned as the Soldier struggled with his pain, turning to face the Generals.

"It's all over… We- _*Cough*_ We can't win…"

"What kind of nonsense are you on about Soldier?"

"We were wiped out, everyone is either dead... or taken prisoner… Lord Colt was also slain..." The Soldier said he struggled more and more with his breathing.

The Generals were all shocked at what the Soldier had just said and the revelation of this information will damage the Empire's reputation. "What of the enemy you faced?"

"They are… Superior… _WE CAN'T WIN- *Cough*_ The Soldier was then carried away into the medical tent. They weren't sure what to believe at all but things would get much worse for the Generals soon as another Soldier, and Officer approached them and saluted. "My Lord, it would appear that there is some kind of loud buzzing insect that came out from the other side…"

"An insect?" The Officer then handed a pair of brass binoculars to observe the Gate.

"I've already sent for a few Soldiers to investigate the insect my Lord."

…

"What kind of creature is it?"

The four Soldiers looked at the insect confused as it began to buzz away from them and up into the sky. The ground beneath them began to rumble and they began to panic. "What's happening?!"

Suddenly Armored tanks rolled through the gate, the sight of them made the Soldiers run for their lives until they were gunned down by machine gun fire. The Legions of Soldiers were then ordered to ready their weapons, aimed and fired at the Armored vehicles to no effect. "Bring up the cannons now!"

 **...**

"The ARVN armored crew sat in their Abrams unharmed by the Legions of Soldiers firing at them with their rifles and cannons as they coordinated with their tank commander, prepping to fire. "Load up H.E. rounds..."

"It's up…"

"On my go... Fire!" The Legions of rank and file men were decimated by the 120mm cannon of the Abrams and the stragglers were picked off by the 50. Cal MG. They were followed by LAV-600 vehicles and dismounted Infantry. Imperial forces were quickly losing ground to their unknown attackers who caught them off guard, with many of their Soldiers now dead and most deserting the battlefield in panic.

"Damn talk about a crazy party... Everyone advance! They are on their last limbs here!" Vịnh said leading his men against the survivors who were shot dead and beaten to death before they could plead for mercy.

…

Lord Duran was battered from the close explosion and chaos that just unfolded. He just lost an arm to the explosion and his entire force was wiped out in the matter of minutes before he could even give out an order, including his trusted Generals. "The King sent us here to our deaths…"

He took up his Officer pistol, aimed and fired one last shot at the advancing enemy Troops before he was shot once, falling over but still breathing. He could faintly hear them speaking some kind of language he had never heard before and felt himself being carried away before passing out.

There was nothing left but hundreds of dead Imperial Soldiers, their bodies either burned or blown up beyond recognition and everything around them was on fire as ARVN Soldiers swept the area for anymore stragglers in the area. This was a strategic victory for the ARVN forces in the area as they began to set up in a defensive posture and began fortifying Alnus Hill as a base of operations. The ARVN were just getting started.

* * *

 **Alt-Timeline of Events of The Republic of Vietnam**

 **1955- Vietnam War begins and** **Ngô Đình Diệm becomes the First President of the RVN**

 **1963- Coup and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm takes place and is followed by years of political turmoil**

 **1967- Nguyễn Văn Thiệu is elected as 2nd President of the RVN**

 **1968- Tet Offensive begins**

 **1969- Vietnamization is implemented**

 **1970- Land Reform programs (Land to the Tiller) are implemented with great success**

 **1971- Vietnam War extends into Cambodia**

 **1972- Easter Offensive takes place, ends in ARVN victory**

 **1973- Paris Peace Accords take place, Armistice is signed and lost territory is reclaimed by ARVN forces, Last US ground troops leave Vietnam and military aid now cut to $1 billion dollars is delivered to South Vietnam**

 **1974- Support of North Vietnam from USSR and China ends as PAVN launches final offensive- the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Armistice and treaty violated, US government enforces promise to come to South Vietnam's aid**

 **1975- Ho Chi Minh Campaign ends in defeat for North Vietnam, RVN Military Forces gains victory with support from US Military involvement to defend South Vietnam**

 **1976- North Vietnam now suffers from sanctions due to violation of Paris Peace Accords New Armistice/treaty is signed between North and South Vietnam, North Vietnam is unable to back Pathet Lao and Khmer Rouge in Laos and Cambodia leading to their defeat by South Vietnamese backed local government forces**

 **1977- Power is returned to the Kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia**

 **1979- Sino- Vietnamese War begins, South Vietnam temporarily aids the North against China fearing hostile takeover of both countries**

 **1980s-1990s: The RVN goes through multiple economic reforms and self development policies, Free-Market economy and trade is better established, South Vietnam becomes one of the 'Asian Tigers'**

 **1990s-2000s: South Vietnam is a strong military force and ally of the US in the South China Sea region**

 **20XX Present Day- 'The Gate' arrives in the Imperial City of Hue marking the day of the 'Hue Incident' and beginning of ARVN military operations on the other side of the Gate**


	3. Chapter 3- Recon

**GATE:Thus The ARVN Fought Once More**

 **...**

 **A few days later, Alnus Hill…**

The massacre of Imperial Saderan forces ended in an ARVN victory. Shortly after, fortifications were built around Alnus hill to ensure that the ARVN had better reinforced positions to defend should the enemy return. Moral around their encampment was high among the troops who celebrated their first real victory against their enemy who was now being hunted. The American troops sent through the gate alongside the ARVN troops were both impressed and shocked by the display of these Vietnamese men of war and their competency, they had come a long way since the Vietnam war and was better experienced than ever before.

Standing a large makeshift tent serving as HQ for the main force was Vịnh and Bình who were both just being briefed on their next move before leaving the tent and discussing their orders. Their next job was reconnaissance of the surrounding area of Alnus Hill. Any villages, towns or major cities would be investigated by Vịnh and his newly acquired recon team. Bình would be in charge of the 13-man unit of ragtag Soldiers and would work frequently with Vịnh despite them both not knowing each other before the incident.

Vịnh and Bình went on to meet their new team and carry out their recon mission. The members of this team were either from the 1st or 18th divisions which were made up of eight Riflemen, one Machine Gunner, one Grenadier, a Medic, a Radio Operator and one American. Upon meeting with his men, Bình was greeted with a line of salutes from them to which he returned his salute.

Sergeant Khoi was responsible for the team until the arrival of their new leaders, he was one of the first Soldiers to attack the enemy head on in close combat whilst carrying the pride of the 1st Infantry Division. He saw Bình as a dedicated military man and a man who knows what he's doing since Bình was also part of the 1st Infantry Division as well as a hero, making him more trustworthy. Vịnh on the other hand, seemed more lax and Khoi wasn't sure what to think of him. The fact that he was also present alongside Bình during the incident made him a hero too but he was part of the 18th Infantry Division which has been known for producing more reckless and brash Soldiers.

Despite his initial impressions of the both of them, he would not know what these men are truly capable of until after their mission was complete. Khoi introduced himself to the two men before they could start things off. " Sir, Sergeant Khoi, First Infantry Division."

"Good to meet you Sergeant, I'm Lieutenant Bình and this is Senior Sergeant Vịnh." he said as he introduced himself and Vịnh to the new squad leader. Behind Khoi were the new arrivals, Soldiers from both the professional 1st Infantry Division and the cowboy-like 18th Infantry Division who stood idly by in their own respective group or formation ready to go. Vịnh would go over to the group of men from the 18th and speak with them while Bình would walk over to the formation of men from the 1st before they would depart.

 **...**

 **Alnus Hill Outskirts…**

On a dirt road surrounded by a sparse forest was a convoy of three well armored vehicles. The Soldiers of the Third Reconnaissance Team road in MRAPs or Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles as they went on their patrol of the outskirts just outside of Alnus hill.

Bình road in a separate MRAP from Vịnh, there was a bit of small talk here and there between some of the men as they were eager to hear about first hand details of Bình's exploits during the incident. He was a hero among his men for leading many civilians to safety.

As the men made small talk, the driver, Sergeant Hưng expressed his interest in the world they were currently in and talked a bit with Bình about what they would find. "Where are we headed anyways sir?"

"I don't know, I just picked a direction and went with it."

"Wait, you serious?" he said looking over at Bình who nodded in response before he continued with the rest of his answer.

"Anything is better than heaps of paperwork as tall as the Central Highlands so long as we're as far away from base as possible."

"Forgive me sir, but I thought you were a bit more dedicated being the hero and all. I didn't think you were quite this… well…"

"Lazy?" he said to finish off the rest of Hưng's sentence as he looked over at him. Hưng shrugged his shoulders and continued to focus on the road ahead of him.

"Well, I guess but still, you carry yourself better than that Senior Sergeant you came here with earlier today."

"What do you mean by that?" Bình asked to learn more about his thoughts on Vịnh.

"Well he's a bit more mellow than most of the guys here and the fact that he's apart of the 18th worries me a bit, so what's his deal if you don't mind me asking sir?"

" I joined years ago and attended a military academy in Đà Lạt as a Cadet before becoming an Officer. Now, Vịnh on the other hand was drafted some years back and stayed in ever since, don't know why but he did." Bình glanced over at Hưng before he went any further.

"But make no mistake, the man will fight just as hard as any other Soldier in the 18th and they're not as bad as everyone says they are, as out of control as they may be..."

Suddenly, Hưng stopped the MRAP prompting the rest of the convoy to stop which made Bình look back out towards the road. Within a few clicks away was a fairly large settlement, a village of sorts. Upon seeing it himself, Bình radioed the rest of the convoy to inform them of the village.

" _Be advised, I spotted a village north of our location, there is no Imperial presence in the village as of right now but stay alert, over."_

Bình dismounted alongside a few men to move in and investigate the village, they would do so in small numbers to avoid frightening it's inhabitants and show that they mean no harm. Most of the men stayed back along with Sergeant Hưng and Khoi until they were given the all clear to move the convoy into the village safely. Meanwhile, Bình, Vịnh, their radio operator, Senior Private (Binh Nhất) Lâm and Specialist Smith, an American serving the team as a translator would head into the village and hopefully be able to obtain some information about their surroundings.

…

 **Coda Village**

The residents of Coda Village were living in dark times as they feared that the worst is about to come. Their water source had been tainted making it difficult to grow crops, some kind of beast threatens their lands, and the Imperial Saderan Army suffered a massive defeat by an even greater Army beyond the Gate.

The villagers tended to their daily routine chores until some of them noticed four figures walking towards them. They wore very strange splotches on their clothing, all of them wearing matching patterns with the exception of one and holding very short musket style weapons. As they approached the village, some of them took their children inside their homes and locked their doors others stood their ground unsure of what to do.

Despite the call of their parents ordering them to go inside, some of the children stood in awe of the strangers approaching the village. The men were now within 15 feet of the village and did not show any hostile intent. Instead they waved at the village and it's residents making some of them feel a bit more at ease. The children of course waved back at them as well as a few of the villagers.

Specialist Smith, a scrawny looking man with glasses was acting as a translator for the team at this time. The language spoken in the Special Region was very similar to Latin back on Earth and Smith was one of the few selected to deploy with the ARVN for actually knowing Latin. A few steps into the village, some villagers attempted to speak with the Soldiers. Vịnh called out to Smith in near perfect english. "Smith, tell them we mean no harm and wish to speak with whoever is in charge."

As Smith spoke to one villager who pointed out a small hut behind him. Smith turned to face Vịnh and translated what he just learned. "That hut right there in the back is the village elder's home and he's agreed to take us to go introduce ourselves to him."

"Okay, we can go now and see if we can get a map of the area."

"Roger, Sar'ent…"

The four men were led to the hut and were greeted by an old man with a walking stick. Smith started off introducing himself to the old man and the rest of the team. Vịnh awaited information from Smith on nearby settlements. "What did he say?"

"I told him that we were looking to explore the surrounding area and asked if he could mark any other towns or villages nearby on our map." Smith pulled out a sketch of the area and pointed at the next village nearby.

"Kowan village is in a somewhat dense forested area and is run by well… Elves." Smith said as Vịnh, Bình and Lâm gave Smith a confused look on their faces.

"Sorry, you said Elves?"

"I don't believe it either but I've seen some crazy shit since I came here with y'all so i'm not even surprised but this village would often trade with Kowan frequently and they haven't seen anyone from there in weeks."

Bình saw that there was nowhere else to go from Coda beside Kowan and made the call to move out. "Alright, then that's where we're headed, Lâm, call up the rest of the convoy and give that man my thanks."

…

 **Kowan Village**

They finally arrived at the Elven village which laid in ruin as the dismounted and began to spread out in case they came across survivors or worse. The village had a few buildings on the ground but had some wooden platforms up in the trees that were completely torched. After they had finished their sweep of the area, Vịnh got the group together to assess the area further. "So what do we got?"

Bình was the first to add his thoughts. "The level of damage here looks like a forest fire to me but there aren't any bodies at all…"

"I say we keep looking, we're bound to find something here." Sergeant Khoi added believing that they could find something more.

"Hey I found someone!" Specialist Smith yelled out to the others.

"There's a girl down there!"


	4. Chapter 4- Dragon

**GATE:Thus The ARVN Fought Once More**

…

 **Kowan Village**

Upon hearing Smith's call, the group of nearby Soldiers all halted their search and came to Smith who was standing by a run down well with his flashlight in one hand while looking down the well. "I think she's unconscious."

"Well we need to get her out of there, she may be the only survivor in this mess who can tell us what happened." Sergeant Khoi said as he walked back to the convoy.

"I'm going to see if we can use one of the vehicles to pull her out but one of you is going to have to go down there and carry her out."

"I'll go down there." Vịnh said, volunteering to go down and make sure the girl was alright.

…

A few moments have passed since Vịnh rescued the girl out of the well using one of the MRAPs from their convoy to hoist himself and the Elf girl out. She received medical treatment shortly after and once their search was complete, they returned to Coda village.

Vịnh sat in the MRAP of mainly Soldiers from the 18th who were a bit rowdy but not too bad.

They spoke of their lives before joining or being drafted into the Army, their reasons for leaving everything behind and how they had a relative that fought in the Vietnamese Civil War or Sino-Vietnamese War throughout the years. In the driver seat was Senior Corporal (Hạ Sĩ Nhất) Lai who was more than anxious to fight and yet seemed more interested in his surroundings including the locals of this world.

"To think we would find an Elf girl here means there could be so much more…" He said while smiling with his eyes locked on the road back to Coda village.

Vịnh responded to Lai as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sure we'll see plenty while we're here."

"Yeah I hope so."

The convoy would arrive shortly afterwards where they explained the situation to the village Elder using Smith as the interpreter. "Well he thinks it's the work of a Dragon that burned down that village we were just at and know the whole village has to be evacuated."

"A Dragon huh?" Vịnh said to himself trying to grasp the situation.

"He didn't think it would be this close and that it will most likely come back once it senses blood."

Bình then came up with an idea. "Alright, let's help them evacuate then escort them in case this 'Dragon' comes back. So have the convoy spread out and have one of the MRAPs upfront taking lead, Vịnh I want your MRAP behind mine and take care of that girl."

"Yes Sir, everyone mount up." The entirety of the village was abandoned as the villagers gathered their belongings and started loading up on wagons and carriages forming a caravan of refugees.

In the far back of the caravan was Sergeant Khoi in his own MRAP with a whole lot of thoughts on his mind. " _This is madness, Elves, Dragons, what next? Cat girls?"_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a spooked horse dead ahead and a cart with it's wheel loose. "Damn it, everyone out, we gotta get that cart moving."

Sergeant Khoi's group approached an Old Man and a Girl who had lost control of their horse. The Horse was came very close to trampling both the Old Man but at the very last minute, Khoi and Smith fired their M4's in a controlled pair which quickly put the horse down. They both ran up to them along with the rest of the Soldiers to help with the cart.

Khoi decided to send Smith to check up on the two, knowing that he had a better grasp of the local language. "Smith, go check on them."

The Old Man, Cato El Altestan and blue-haired Girl, Lelei La Lalena whos attire differ from the rest of the villagers looked at the Soldiers who had just saved them from being crushed and were now helping fix their cart of personal goods.

" _Are you two alright?"_ Smith asked, as the Girl got a better look of the strange Soldier whose uniform was slightly different from the rest of the Soldiers behind him helping with the cart. The flag on his right shoulder was also different from the others.

" _You saved us… Who are you?"_

" _I'm with the U.S. Army, those men behind me are part of the A.R.V.N or we just call them Arvin."_

" _Ayee arre vee en… Arvin."_ The Girl was left to ponder on about the meaning behind what and who the U.S. Army and ARVN were for the rest of the time.

After the cart was fixed up and another horse was brought up to help carry the cart, the Soldiers then began walking back towards their MRAP until they noticed a sudden large overcast.

"What's with the sudden overcast?" Smith asked thinking the weather might suddenly change. Sergeant Khoi then looked up at the sky, his eyes became wider than before.

"That's no overcast… Every one take cover!" Khoi was unable to run back to the safety of the MRAP in time and jumped into the nearest ditch. A sudden wave of fire immediately covered the area burning the open fields beside the Caravan. Smith and the others were thankfully safe along with the two civilians who ran with them.

"If we don't get burned to death we'll be boiled alive if we stay here." Smith stated before moving into the driver seat and driving up beside Sergeant Khoi who was left undamaged by the flames.

The radio then came to life, it was Vịnh's voice. " _Everyone spread out and engage that Dragon, we need to lead it away from the Caravan as far away as possible to keep these people safe."_

"Sar'ent look!" Smith said pointing at the road before them. Multiple wagons were burned and many Civilians were burned to death or slowly dying. Khoi then got on the radio to respond.

"Roger, we have multiple civilian casualties, requesting that my men stay behind to help treat the wounded."

" _Understood, get that Caravan out of here."_ Vịnh's MRAP was the only one left alongside Bình's who could deal with the Dragon. The Scales of the Dragon were too tough for the 50. Cal to penetrate.

"We're not doing anything to it- Look Out!"

"I see it!" Lai was safely able to out maneuver the flames of the Dragon easily as if he had done this before.

"Where'd you learn to do that?!"

"I used to be a Street Racer!" Lai said with a grin and a determined look on his face. There was a small commotion in the back of their vehicle, the Elf girl was now awake and in between the driver and passenger seat. Vịnh couldn't make out anything she was saying at all until she began pointing at her eye. He suddenly understood what it meant and went for the radio.

"Focus your fire on it's eyes, I repeat aim for the eyes!" Their guns shifted their focus on the Dragon's eyes which caused it to flinch but they would need more than that to scare it off. Vịnh suddenly had a crazy idea.

"What are you doing Sergeant?"

"I'm gonna wound that Dragon, hey get down from there and keep that hatch open." The Soldier got off of the 50. Cal and Vịnh climbed on up through the hatch with a Rocket Launcher, a Panzerfaust 3.

"Keep it steady!" He took careful aim at the Dragon, then fired. The Warhead soared through the sky clearly and Vịnh could make out the Warhead hitting the Dragon which let out a thunderous roar before flying away, leaving its own arm behind.

…

 **A Few Hours Later…**

The Caravan was decimated by the attack which left many dead and wounded. The dead were buried and the survivors were split into groups. Smith would explain the situation to everyone. "The Elder and his group said that they had relatives in other towns and villages not too far off from here but the rest of the refugees…"

"He can't take them?" Vịnh asked wondering about their fate.

"They have no one left to go to even if they went with them."

"Do you think we can take them with us Sir?"

Bình wanted to bring them back but he knew what would happen if they did yet he did not want to say no. "Alright, they can come with us."

They looked over at the refugees who welcomed them with open arms. Smith then spoke up. "Y'all see that blue haired Girl right there has been pretty helpful with treating the wounded."

"How so?" Bình asked.

"Well she and that Old Guy are both Mages with some kind of Healing Magic."

"Magic exists here too?!" Sergeant Khoi said out loud, he couldn't believe any of it but after seeing everything that has happened, it's undeniable.


End file.
